Katherine and the Burning Dragon
by gonnahaveagreatday
Summary: Dawin Yaieric Von Phoenix Draco is drawn to Mystic Falls on his vacation to the human world, a gift from his parents. Katherine Pierce is back in MF, and being alive after hell almost wiped out the human world no one trusts her. Dawin and Katherine form an unlikely connection in more than one way, and Katherine remembers what it's like to be truly happy. Warning: contains assault
1. The Dragon

This a fic request from babydaeng, I didn't think up the dragon character or the storyline.

* * *

He stared at the high ceiling of his bedroom, waiting for daylight so he could begin his day. He hadn't slept, restless for the inevitable big adventure he and his friends would go on. But, he was also homesick and when that was he preferred to be alone.

Others that would come to his land for the first time would never want to leave. He hardly wanted to leave, and he'd seen that beautiful place since the first minute he was born, as prince of this realm of supernatural creatures. Everyone's from myths in books in the human world, so everyone's normal. It's the beings that have sensitive skin, needing to be worked into muscle constantly for appearances and survival; the beings that have soft hair that doesn't change into something else when something happens to them, that are the strange ones. Humans are the ones his subjects are afraid of here.

The fact that there are beings whose skin breaks but knits back together fascinated him. Little cooing babies, the teeth have to grow into their skulls and their brains have to full develop while they're alive and still growing made him so concerned for their safety, even when none of them were his. But being the heir to the throne in his kingdom, his subjects trusted him with their lives, and so the lives of their babies, or mortal babies found on the outskirts of the kingdom where unknowing human parents had left them.

Dawin Yaieric Von Phoenix Draco, the prince of the Creature Kingdom. In this human world, Dawin Claveria. He had that privilege and that title, because his parents were the most powerful beings in the realm, and in producing an heir made another rung in the food chain. Dawin's mother was a phoenix, her skin golden and soft to the touch, but impossible to break. Dawin's father was a dragon, one of the few shape shifting left that only used his full power as king, when he had to. So the prince had hardly seen such a feat of breathing fire, metallic roaring and a huge hulking, scaly body that was hardly aware of its own size within its world. His father had admitted a few times he's gotten rusty at using his powers, but brushes off any suggestion to practice. It was one of Dawin's great pleasures, reading with his father and it's what the dragon king made a priority over everything.

But the first time Dawin wanted to visit the human world, his parents wouldn't allow it. He knew he wouldn't be hurt, and wondered why he was denied this one request out of the thousands his subjects begged for. It was simple: the human world was not for them. Extraordinary beings stayed in their realm and the ordinary ones stayed in theirs. That kept peace, and kept terrible things from happening to both sides, including murder and slavery. So he accepted the verdict, and a few decades later, he grew tired of just poking his head through the veil separating their worlds. He decided he had to have a cover and practiced day and night pretending to be a mortal, changing his appearance until he looked like the people on the other side.

He settled on brown hair and brown eyes, a small cocoa figure but imposing enough not to be taken advantage of. He'd changed his skin color over the eras he'd visited the human world in order to protect himself from slavery and racism. But when he was in safe company, his skin was back to the beautiful brown shade his mother adored and he was complimented on in every realm. Dawin dabbled in what facial features he'd have, and liked wisps of a mustache and a beard, highlighting his eternal age of 21 years old. His original form was a swirl of soft golden feathers and hard black scales on every inch of his body. His eyes were golden as well, with accompanying black slits like a cat's eyes. Like his father he'd rarely had to show his true form and brandish his phoenix dragon power of flying, fire and strength.

Finally the dawn arrived, and he dressed in what passed for modern clothing now; a simple black t-shirt, brown leather jacket and loose jeans with a belt. His necklace his parents had given him he hid under the collar, a little figure of a fairy with glass wings and emerald eyes. It wasn't anyone he knew, and the gold of the figure, the green of the eyes or the glass didn't mean much to him considering his vast wealth. Fairies were simply his second favorite creature, next to humans. And it kept him anchored to his birth world. He's been hiding it since Damon asked about it and wouldn't let the subject drop despite the fact the fairy was nothing incredibly special. But then, Damon was naturally suspicious.

When Damon got together with Elena at last, he's celebrated with both Alaric and Dawin. Alaric was back on the other side after warning Damon not to screw things up, and Dawin was there to help keep Damon in line for Elena. Damon had the summer of his life with the one woman who'd never abandoned him, and Dawin felt like a father watching his children in love and happy. He couldn't wait for someone to pop the question and for someone to ask him to be a godfather.

Caroline finally climbing on the 'Delena train' made things a lot easier as well. And this was before she reunited with Klaus, finally sealing the seal of 'however long it takes'. Klaus was as suspicious of Dawin as Damon had been, although Caroline never let him voice his concerns to his face. The women of Mystic Falls were his allies.

Stefan became one way later on, after Dawin saved his life and made it possible for him to be the best man at Damon's wedding. Although, Katherine was caught in the crossfire. And without knowing why himself, he enlisted help to bring the most tortured doppelganger in the human's supernatural history back to life. No one knew his actions, not even Katherine. And he intended to keep it that way. Better not to be asked why he'd bring such a dangerous woman back when he had no answer for them.

Being as much of an old friend as a stranger to them, Dawin was able to keep many secrets. For instance, everyone thought he was human. Not as such. He wasn't as weak as some humans, and he was a hundred times more powerful than they were, in every sense. Everyone thought he was born in this world, after all they knew of no other world. He wanted to know what their reaction would be when they found out the truth.


	2. The Doppelganger

Damon was leaning casually on the door frame to the Salvatore Mansion, from what Dawin could tell. Apparently Elena wasn't there yet or he'd be inside flirting and grinning like the lovesick puppy he was. But, Dawin knew at one point he'd been the same. He just didn't remember what her name was, or what she looked like.

She was the mother of his children, however.

Damon saw Dawin approaching and jutted out his chin in greeting.

"How was your morning?"

"Boring as usual," Dawin replied, and managed to see the high-five Damon held up for him. He slapped it hard enough to make a loud clap and Damon groaned in reply, shaking his hand out.

"Almost a decade of that and you still high-five stronger than any human."

"As if you're the expert on these things," Dawin snorted. "Besides, maybe vampires need a workout in the gym once in a while."

"When's your sister coming by the way? Baby bro wants to talk to her."

"What about?" Dawin asked

"Didn't say. Don't be surprised if you and I suddenly become brothers in-law, forewarning you," Damon teased.

"Never gonna happen."

Dawin heard Elena's good-hearted chuckle as she neared the boys, putting her hospital bag down and kissing her husband.

"How was work, my wife?" Damon asked, lightly running an arm around her waist.

"It was great, my husband." Elena giggled and threaded her fingers through the hand on her waist, kissing him and spinning out of his embrace.

"You certainly make an entrance, Mrs. Salvatore," Klaus greeted. Elena snorted at him and Dawin moved back, not wanting to be part of the inevitable bickering.

"Where's your better half before we figure out how to kill you permanently?" She asked

"On the way. And by the way," Klaus looked at Dawin with his eyes glinting "I've no idea how you put up with these ones." Dawin shook his head.

"Caroline and I like people and they actually like us."

"Where's Caitlin?" Elena asked.

"She'll be here, had things to do. And shouldn't you have already heard that, being a vampire and all?" Dawin asked

"I was distracted, Win" She laughed, then turned into the kitchen to get food out.

"Also, how's your baby bro? Barry?" Damon asked

"Bart is just fine, he checks in every week or so. Alice keeps him in line, thank god," Dawin laughed.

When more laughter seeped into the room, Dawin knew his daughter was here. Caroline and Caitlin walked in arm and arm, giggling to themselves and hanging on each other.

"We're not drunk, are we love?" Klaus asked, turning to Caroline. She pushed him playfully.

"No we're not drunk, and Caitlin's a minor, remember? We just had a very..." she looked over at the young woman "interesting conversation on the way here." The sentence ended in another eruption of giggles before Damon groaned at the noise.

"It's not like being a minor's stopped any teen in this town from drinking before," Damon noted. Elena turned from the food in the fridge to give her husband a look.

"None of us are perfect, with one exception," A voice sounded. Stefan stood in the middle of the room, smiling at Caitlin.

"Were you here this whole time?" Klaus asked, making Caitlin laugh again.

"Only long enough to hear someone gushing about me like a schoolgirl," Stefan walked up to Dawin's sister, his smile still over his face.

"You wish, 'baby bro'." Caitlin scoffed, rolling her eyes and looking towards her father. In her dark eyes she'd inherited from her mother, Dawin saw her asking him to help her.

Stefan turned away, scorned, and Dawin unnecessarily elbowed him further away from his daughter.

"The day my sister talks about the youngest Salvatore like a 'gushing schoolgirl' is the day the world burns to the ground." Dawin snapped. The room had become tense when Stefan made his uncharacteristic entrance, but now no one wanted to move, let alone clear their throat. Stefan always wanted Caitlin. She and Dawin both stomped on his heart thoroughly every time he brought up the subject, and yet he kept coming back. His persistence was beginning to frighten both of them.

Bonnie's boot clicks sounded louder than usual outside the Salvatore Mansion and thankfully broke the tension. Enzo poked his head in before she entered and the young Bennett Witch looked over her friends in hesitation.

"This is a fun group, what happened?" She asked, and no one wanted to answer.

"So everyone's here, now we can eat!" Elena interjected rather forcefully. Everyone turned away from the scene, except Dawin who darkly glared at Stefan. Stefan caved on the staring contest first and went to Caroline's side to talk to Klaus. Caitlin sidled up to Damon and Elena.

"What's his problem?" She hissed at them. "Is he drunk or something?"

"Vampires can't get drunk, remember little sister? But Stefan is acting strange alright. I'm sure whatever it is will roll through its destructive pattern and go away in no time," Damon smirked.

"He wasn't this bad since Katherine was here." Elena noted, then froze. Damon stared at her, then they met Stefan's eyes from across the room.

"Where is she?" Damon asked with gritted teeth "And what the hell does she want."

* * *

She brushed her hair in the mirror, wondering how she'd make her infamous appearance. Elena Gilbert, the kind weak doppelganger who still had Stefan's love, and was married to his big brother. She'd see how to fix that.

Letting Stefan see her across the golf course was the best decision she'd thought to make since taking over Hell. Even better than staying there until Stefan caught up to her, demanding what she was doing there. _You, Stefan. It's always you_. Even when you stick a knife in my heart.

She watched all the Mystic Falls gang go to the Salvatore brothers' house, one by one. Except the brother and sister she never got many words from. That pair...they always knew she was Katherine. That was probably why her doppelganger loved them so much.

Every time she came to Mystic Falls, it ended up being about Stefan. When he was human, she fell in love with a mortal and refused to accept he'd stay that way. When he was with Elena the first time, she refused to accept he'd stay that way. Now Elena's married, and Stefan could be all hers.

This was the last time she would try.

* * *

Since his brother married the woman he loved, Stefan had been staying wherever someone would let him crash. There wasn't a hotel close enough in Mystic Falls to warrant him moving permanently in and he was just one person, too much room for a mansion. Yet when he heard the telling sound of clicking heels, he wished he could hide in any one of those thousand closets.

"So I heard the little Clav's caught your eye." Katherine began, leaning against the door frame. Stefan glared at her.

"I don't want to talk to you, Katherine."

"Why, planning something for your new lover?" She asked. Stefan knew he would regret this later as he did with everything else, but this might be the only way to get Katherine off his back.

"Yes." Stefan turned around, his eyes shining and smiling giddily. Katherine's mocking smile faded. "I asked Caitlin out, she finally said yes. And I'm going to make the most romantic date in the history of dates for her, you want to hear about it?" He asked

"You're lying." Katherine spat.

"I promise I'm not, when you left I talked with her and we agreed to give it a shot, just to see if there was anything there."

"Well we both know there isn't, Stefan" she replied, walking to stand nose-to-nose with him. "The only women you've ever loved look like me. And I'm not giving up on you."

"Well you should!" He snapped, pushing her away. He shuddered at how close she had been and reveled that she'd been caught off guard, almost falling on her butt over her stupid heels. "The only reason I loved you as a mortal was because of how your skin felt beneath my fingers. I remember the afternoon we spent in my bed, and you showed your true face to me. I was terrified, remember that?! But you couldn't work it out or talk the problem through with me, you had to compel me to stop freaking out! You think that's love?!" He roared, towering over her. Katherine stared up at him, tears in her eyes.

"Now for the last time, leave me alone. Or I will kill you."

Katherine walked from the room with shaking legs, willing herself to control her tears long enough for Stefan to not overhear that he'd won. He'd never talked to her like that. She never would've guessed he remembered that afternoon, either. That couple of hours were the happiest of her life for a long period of time...weren't they? He'd told her he'd love her forever. He was lying. He was foolish, he was mortal. And a doppelganger under a spell, the same one she'd let herself be overwhelmed by for centuries, because it didn't threaten anything important to her.

Now it did. And now was the time to decide, would she keep her promise and move on now, or would she become a pathetic little girl who couldn't take no for an answer.


	3. These Dreams Go On

It was a wonderful dream. But it wasn't just that.

_They were both naked from the waist up. He kissed her fervently, and she rolled on top of him, sitting up on him and pulling loosely, knowing he'd follow her. Her hands lazily drooped onto his shoulders, up to his face and she kissed him again. He went back and kissed her neck like it was a fine wine. He cupped her face, looking up at her. She looked down at him questioning his thoughts._

_"I will love you forever."_

_When he started kissing her again she sighed happily, laughing._

_"Forever is a very long time, you know." She replied, craning her head back so he had better access to her neck._

_"Not long enough." He said gruffly. The longer he kissed her, the more she wanted him. She had planned to wait and persuade him to ask for her hand in marriage to her father, but his lips were irresistible_...

She gasped awake, sitting upright in bed with her chest singing. If only her heart still beat, she'd know if she were scared or happy. But after a thousand times of dreaming that wonderful dream, this was the first time...Stefan's face wasn't there. It didn't feel like his lips on her skin, his voice whispering he'd love her forever.

Getting out of bed, walking on her shaking limbs, she drew her blanket around her. This dream was the truth. This dream was who that person really was in bed with her that night. And this dream was when she was still mortal.

Who was that?

Nobody she'd miss.

She went to the Salvatore Mansion, to put in her first official appearance. Wouldn't they be surprised.

* * *

Katherine opened the door to the house, and walked in casually as she always did. The only thing was, it seemed everyone knew she was coming.

Stefan, Elena, Damon, most of the rest of the gang was standing in a circle before the fire in the living room. Katherine crossed her arms.

"Why did you do it?" Stefan asked. She stared at him.

"What're you talking about?" She asked in return.

"Don't play dumb, Katherine" Damon snapped "the killings that've happened since you got back into town. Why kill an old librarian and just leave someone to find her body?"

"And why kill a defenseless teenage girl? She barely was in middle school," Elena protested. Katherine stared hard at them, then looked around the room. Dawin was huddle in the corner, looking out the window, seemingly ignoring her. Or trying to pretend he didn't exist. His sister was with everyone else, but making the same face Katherine now had. The brother Barry, he was on his phone and texting his girlfriend.

"Wait, let's hear her side, she doesn't sound like she knows what's happening."

"That's what she does, little sister!" Damon snapped at her "manipulates you at every step, even after you figure out her plan, and only stops when she's succeeded."

"She doesn't always succeed." Caitlin replied in a small voice. Katherine narrowed her eyes at the young woman.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, little sister." She said dryly. Caitlin gulped when she looked back at her, then shrunk away from the others. She was always like that, anytime Katherine was near her. On her side, happy she was there. But she didn't know who that girl was, and Dawin never let her find out. So she kept her distance, keeping an eye out in case they were just like her.

"Stop dodging the question, Katherine. Why would you have to gain from killing those innocent people, who were they?" Stefan demanded.

"As I said, I don't know what you're talking about. Not every little innocent death of a human in this town is my fault, not even when I'm here."

"Fine, keep your secrets. We'll find out soon enough." Klaus replied to her. Katherine glared at him and spun around, storming out of the house. Someone as innocent as Caitlin seeming to be, being subjected to a witch trial like this? Even when it was her, it felt too much to bear. She didn't want to drag it out and possibly hurt her more.

The door slammed shut and everyone turned back to each other.

"What do we do?" Elena asked

"Keep a close eye on her, maybe even need to follow her. She's got a plan, and whatever it is it's not good." Damon replied.

"What if she's telling the truth though? What if there's someone else killing these people and we're going after the wrong person?" Caitlin protested. Stefan looked at her, then at his brother.

"We should at least keep it in mind if Katherine's telling the truth."

"The first time in history" Damon muttered, walking away with a full glass of bourbon.

"What do you think, Dawin?" Klaus called.

"Oh please, he always takes Katherine's side." Caroline protested. Before Dawin could answer, there was a knock on the door. The arguments ceased immediately and the door opened slowly, a head poking in.

"Torin?" Klaus asked. The man smiled and stepped the rest of the way in.

"Sorry, Bonnie told me you guys were here," Torin said. Bonnie shared a look with her best friends and Enzo sat down by her.

"What're you doing here, mate?" Klaus asked.

"Just wanted to come in and talk, saw your old nemesis Katherine leave a bit ago."

Caroline laughed and Klaus rolled his eyes, he laced his fingers in with hers and kissed her hand.

"Yeah, there's some new unsolved murders in town, we're pretty sure Katherine's the one but she hasn't fessed up why yet." Stefan said. Torin looked at him with an eyebrow raised. The man who was an old friend of Klaus's, wasn't eager to trust the ripper. He still wasn't, but accepted his presence because two people he cared very much about trusted him despite his repeated mistakes.

"What makes you think she did them?" Torin asked, dropping down into a chair by the group.

"Whenever Katerina Petrova comes to town with some malicious little plot, people end up dead." Damon said

"Because?"

"They interfered in some way, their death was a step in her plan, something. But chances are since these innocent people died, something really bad's about to happen. We wanna be prepared for it." Damon replied. Torin nodded in agreement, looking down in agreement. He put his hands together as if praying, and looked back up at the group.

"May I offer some advice?" He asked. Klaus nodded, Caroline leaned forward. "Perhaps you shouldn't always point the finger at the older doppelganger. She may be in fact, innocent. And I am not saying that as an ally of hers, or a third party interested in how this little war will play out between you all. Your prejudices may be blinding you."

The group became silent and Torin stood up, walking to Klaus and clapping his hand into a handshake.

"Best of luck, Niklaus." Torin said. Klaus nodded and smiled.

Dawin was still nearly hiding in the curtains by the window, as Torin saw when he first arrived. When he glanced back, he went to the middle of the room, right before his chair.

"Nothing can stop the plan for your life." Dawin looked at the man, then scanned the room to see who he was talking to. When his eyes went back to Torin, whose eyes now stared into his. He merely nodded.

"You-you mean me?" Dawin asked, pointing to himself.

"Yes, soon destiny lead you to meet before, it will again. Remember something you're searching for."

"I was never searching for anything," he stated, but Torin ignored him.

"And the question about the death of the person you love the most, and the question why you must separate far from each other, are you sure that deep down you aren't searching? Soon you will get the answers, the answers that which will bring great responsibility, responsibility that you can sacrifice with your life, not just one life but two lives, two lives that has destined to meet each other all over again despite the situation and people trying to separate them, it's attachment that is above fate, one life as high as sky, the other as strong as the mountain."

"I don't understand what you are saying." Dawin replied. Damon nodded to himself, thinking he certainly wasn't alone.

"No one can force destiny and love. I wish you luck" Torin said, smiling. He left, leaving everyone confused. Especially Dawin.

* * *

Katherine just wanted a dramatic exit, she'd stepped into the shadows to listen in on what plans they'd be concocting against her. Thankfully Caitlin stopped them from getting that far. When that man Torin came...she wanted to follow him. See what he knew, or at least compel someone to do that for her. The things he'd said to Dawin were so odd, but...they made sense?

She'd have a human compelled to watch this Torin just in case he was a part of the plan that killed all these people she was being blamed for. Blood pooled all over the place, sloppy and redundant, she was offended they even thought of her as the culprit. This was how she stayed a step ahead, watching from the shadows.

The next day when Caitlin wasn't there-the middle child-Damon plotted with Tyler, Elena and Bonnie on how to get rid of Katherine. Dawin was there, but he made sure the plan had a hole in it every time, even the ones Damon thought up. In the end they gave up until they could catch her in the act.

Elena followed Stefan out of the house as he stomped away. They began yelling at each other, and she heard every word;

"This can't be a coincidence, Dawin wants to help Katherine!" Stefan protested

"He's on our side, Stefan. Why can't you see that?"

"Because he never stands up to her. He never tells his sister to rethink her attitude towards her. Damon was coming up with plans all day long yesterday, and Dawin poked holes in every one of them."

"That doesn't mean he's a double agent." She replied calmly. Stefan stared at her. There was a moment of silence.

"For years I have watched you defend my brother, and then you married him. He doesn't deserve you, Elena. No one does." Stefan said, then grabbed her face and kissed her. Elena made a sound of protest and pushed him away.

"Stefan?!" Elena yelled. He merely continued to stare at her until Damon came out of the house, having heard her cry. Stefan turned and vampire-sped away.

Katherine leaned against her tree in contemplation. She knew he was lying, even though his words before had hurt worse than anything.

Let Stefan be obsessed with Elena until he died, like she had been once. She walked toward her living arrangements, determined to quit watching the man she thought she loved cold-turkey. He'd know her pain one day, and one day he may apologize. But that wasn't Stefan, not now.

* * *

Someone she did know better however, Dawin, was an interesting man. He was handsome and alluring, no doubt he knew that from the women always draping themselves over him, no matter where he was. She didn't blame Caitlin or Barry for being annoyed when the women went a bit too far or couldn't stop themselves from making fools of each other. But...he was attractive. Not in Stefan's way, but in a better way. Perfect, yet doesn't try. He knew he was handsome, but he didn't use such knowledge to his advantage. In fact she mused, if he wasn't as handsome, his life would be far less turbulent.

But he'd have to give up his fifteen different hobbies as well. Dawin seemed to be one of those individuals where no matter what he tried, he was a natural at it. He painted after Klaus showed him some of his works, and they became the envy of the town. He gardened with his siblings and was asked to landscape for one of the pageants. He invented mystic technologies once he'd understood all the witchy-objects Bon-bon showed him, and they became incredibly useful. The one thing he wasn't a natural at, was being a good boyfriend. Especially after the last relationship he had.


	4. Just One More Try to Love

Happy Birthday to babydaeng, you're amazing and beautiful and loved.

* * *

It was hard to move on from the idea of Stefan, Katherine soon realized, when the first thing she did when she got up the next morning from seeing Stefan lunge in and kiss a married Elena Gilbert, what he was thinking right then. How he looked. How he felt.

She knew he looked gorgeous and handsome as always, but she was going to move on from him. He felt like a wet rat in a sewer and he thought he'd never be happy again.

She bet Stefan wanted anyone to show up for him, to comfort him. Maybe Caroline would, and her marriage to the hybrid was safe so Stefan wouldn't be getting any ideas there. Maybe Elena would come and pretend she cared how he was hurting because of her, or maybe one of his guy pals would come and drink with him until he was too wasted to remember anything. Regardless, she wasn't going to be there this time. She wasn't the one to be with him.

Dawin Claveria on the other hand...

* * *

Today was the showing of Dawin's newest collection of paintings, some of which Klaus had advised on so he was there as well. Old habits die hard, but she trusted Caroline to beat her husband's ass if he laid a finger on her without his wife's permission. And the fact Dawin's family was there made it easier to forget the 500 years of running.

Caitlin noticed her first, and skipped to the painting Katherine was admiring, the grassy hill with a scatter of pink flowers and a dreamy blue sky. It looked so peaceful, she wanted to climb into the picture and just lay under the clear sky without a care in the world.

"You like Winnie's picture?" Caitlin asked. She looked toward her big brother and Katherine saw she tried hard to keep from bursting out laughing in the quiet showing room.

"Was that the first time you called your brother that nickname?" Katherine asked in return. Caitlin shrugged

"Thought I'd try it out." She weaved her arm around's Katherine's and began walking with her around the room. "That grassy hill painting is beautiful, isn't it?"

"Gorgeous." Katherine agreed, staring at Dawin as she and Caitlin passed. She willed the man to look up at her and see her, but his bent face staring at what was in his hands in thought was just as beautiful and the face he would've shown. He didn't look up, so she had enough time to side-swerve an oblivious admirer, staring at the painting before them. Katherine looked irritably at the painting as well, and pulled Caitlin to a stop before it. She didn't notice the smile tugging at the child's mouth.

It was a moonlit scene, in a beautiful expansive mansion, at the balcony. The moon shining down brightly, covering the landscape before it in white almost brighter than the sun had. And below it, staring up at the moon, was a woman with very long and curly hair. The woman could've been her clone from behind. But then, there was a lot of that going around.

"_You're like a blue moon. Comes around once or twice in a very long time, and spectacular to witness._"

Katherine shook her head, wondering whose voice that was that sounded in her head. What memory it was from. She looked back at Caitlin nervously and played off the feeling.

"Which one's your favorite, kid?" Katherine asked the young woman.

"The one all in red, that looks like the sun? I love the flames Win painted, they look so realistic" Caitlin replied. Katherine looked around the room.

"Is that somewhere else here? I don't see it."

"No, Win hasn't finished it, it's at home. But you should come and see it anyway, it'll be even more gorgeous once its finished, and maybe he'll have Klaus give an opinion on it."

"You want me to come to your house? Even with what's happening in town?" Katherine asked suspiciously. Caitlin merely smiled.

"Win, Barry and I all know you're not the one behind it. Everyone else will figure that out soon enough."

This girl reminded her of the daughter she couldn't raise, Nadia. Nadia could've looked like her 500 years ago. And Katherine would never know if that was true or not.

She knew Nadia had had some of her features when she'd given birth to her, she could see as much from the baby's face in her mother's arms. But when she'd reached for the little one to see if the baby had inherited something else, her father hadn't allowed it. He shouted abuse at her, and Nadia's cries echoed in the house while her mother was comforted and held back from chasing after the babe's grandfather.

Barry glanced at her and nodded in greeting, Katherine smiled at him.

"You're looking very sharp in that suit, Barry" she complimented. Barry smiled back at her and straightened the already immaculate tan jacket that pieced together his three-layer tan suit.

"Thanks, I had it tailored for today" Katherine's eyebrows rose.

"Really? Do you do that for all your big bro's shows?" She asked. He shrugged and looked away with no reply, smiling. Katherine looked around for Dawin.

"Speaking of the oldest, where is he?" She asked the siblings. Caitlin and Barry exchanged looks then separated to look for him before Katherine could notice. She turned and found both of them gone.

She sighed and prepared to leave after looking at more paintings. Then Katherine heard a throat clear behind her.

When Katherine turned around, she was struck with beautiful brown eyes.

"Dawin." She greeted him in surprise.


	5. Got Nerve

"Katherine" Dawin greeted in less of a happy way than his siblings. She stared at him.

"It's a nice art exhibit you're hosting," She replied awkwardly. He nodded thanks, as more people came in. The exhibit seemed fairly busy now.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"What do you mean? I was looking for Caitlin," Katherine said

"I mean in Mystic falls. I would think travelling the world while you're not on the run from a vengeful lunatic would be infinitely more exciting than staying in this small town." Dawn replied.

"Well, maybe I thought there was something here, more interesting than the rest of the world." She said smoothly. Dawin had to stop himself from smiling or snapping at her remark. He trusted her, but he didn't know why. There were murders happening around town, and not even he knew who was behind them. He knew that Katherine wasn't the culprit however, and he didn't know why. Her being a complete mystery to him was infuriating.

"Caitlin and Barry seem to have a liking for you." He noted, searching for them among the others.

"Yeah, Caitlin's a good kid. Barry seems pretty shy but that's just a front I'm guessing." Katherine assumed. He nodded with a smile.

"Not many people would have guessed that." He replied, impressed. Then Caitlin jumped in, grinning at her big brother and Katherine.

"You found him before we did!" She announced excitedly. Katherine smiled back at her, loving how happy she was.

Dawin was taken aback, his heart pounding at the similarity between Caitlin's smile...and Katherine's. His surprise was short-lived however, when he noticed Barry from across the room, bent over in pain with no one paying attention. He pushed through the uncaring crowd, Caitlin and Katherine following. When he laid his hand on Barry's back the boy's head flew up to meet his brother's eyes.

"This suit is too fucking warm, Winn." Barry wheezed. He tugged at the tie on his neck, unable to loosen the knot he'd put in before. Dawin put his arm around his brother and Caitlin went to his other side. Katherine looked on, wondering what she could do. Caitlin glanced back at her.

"Barry's gonna be fine. He needs to cool down, is all. Come over to the house later, whenever you want. Winn can show you the stuff I was talking about before." Caitlin looked back at her brother and helped Dawin take the doubled over Barry out of the exhibit. Katherine stood there in shock, thankful that these people weren't human enough to care what had just happened.

* * *

After standing in the exhibit like an idiot, not looking at the paintings and done pretending to wait for someone, she turned on her heel and went the direction the Claverias went. She didn't have to listen for their footsteps or voices, as she already knew where they lived just as all the others did. Not as big of a house as the fricking White House but still too huge just to house three people. That mansion could house two families and still have enough rooms left over for a handful of guests to have their own private bathrooms.

Not that she knew this from experience of being in there. She'd only been able to look from a distance at the family and pick up some details, the rest were given to her generously by Caitlin. And Caitlin had only told her what their house was like on the inside.

She knocked on the door, and not a second later a voice sounded 'come in!' She was unsure that counted to invite her into the house, and stayed where she was. Soon the door swung open and Caitlin grinned at her, gesturing for her to follow.

"You know I'm a vampire, right?"

"Yeah, that's why I said 'come in'." Caitlin replied. Katherine smiled and walked in tentatively.

"Is Barry alright?" She asked

"Yeah, just a minor panic attack and too many people in one spot." Caitlin said offhand, leading her into a joining room. Barry was sitting on a footstool in the living room, a glass of nothing but ice cubes in one hand. He saw her and said nothing. "He's still a bit shaky, actually." Caitlin added, leaning in to murmur it.

"Katherine!" Dawin's voice sounded from her left, she turned to meet his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Came to check on Barry, that was episode I don't see often."

"You must be around normal supernatural person a lot, then." Dawin replied. "Barry's fine, you are welcome to leave."

"Be nice, win." Caitlin chided him and he gave her a look, which silenced her.

"I haven't ever seen the inside of your house, Winn! You're telling me I have to go when I just got here? Bad host manners." Katherine teased him.

"I can dis-invite you just as quickly as Caitlin in-vited you." He warned, emphasizing the syllables.

"But he's not going to do that, because he knows what happens to vamps when they're dis-invited." Caitlin carefully responded, giving her big brother a glare. He looked away. Was he the only one that knew who she really was? She took Katherine's arm to cut the tension, Katherine's eyes gleaming with mischief.

"You want to see Dawin's paintings, then?" She asked, leading the doppelganger vamp before she could reply.

The staircase that led to the second story was elaborate, white and winding. The first room was Dawin's painting room as it seemed, and the finished ones were piled against the walls.

The room became quiet, as if everyone in the house was holding their breath while Katherine wandered through the room. She skimmed her fingertips over the thick dried paint. Most of them were landscapes, the details were to die for. But one she noticed was unlike anything she'd ever seen in her travels.

A huge, immense gray castle that glittered in the sun, dragons flying overhead and long stretches of prairies. People standing around, all facing the castle and in the detail of their faces showed loyalty.


	6. New Horizons

"What's this painting?" Katherine asked, holding it out to Caitlin to see.

"Barry read this book a while back, fantasy stuff. He loved the scenery and was telling Dawin about it. Dawin loved it too so he made a painting. Don't tell him though, it's going to be a birthday present." She said conspiratorially. Katherine smirked and put it back.

She knew something wasn't right about that answer however. Because she listened to Caitlin's heartbeat, and it never sped up, never slowed down. It stayed perfectly level. Either the middle Claveria was telling the truth or she was really good at lying.

Regardless, she kept the painting in the back of her mind the rest of the visit with the Claveria family. She could hardly keep her eyes off of Dawin, though. It felt like more to her than simply liking his personality and the look of him. It was as if...he was important to her. Maybe Caitlin and Barry were too? Although short of adopting them as her surrogate children there was no way she was biologically related to them.

Katherine was anchored by this sad thought when she left to turn in for the night, not wanting to overstay her welcome and risk Dawin throwing her out. She had seen how strong he was, and she had a hunch she wasn't that strong. Hell, he could be stronger than Klaus. Which sounded really good to her. A few years ago, she'd be stuck to Dawin's hip like a cute rash. She'd try every trick in the book with him and something would work, he'd protect her against the one force that had kept her running all of her life. Which meant settling in one place, with those two children. That sounded so nice.

That was when she decided. She wasn't going to take no for an answer; hell when did she ever do that before? And Dawin would have to physically throw her out of his house and his life in order to get rid of her. Who knew if Klaus's deal with his sweetie would hold, if Caroline didn't decide to rescind the order and Klaus was free to knock her head off her shoulders. That, and Dawin's family was the closest thing she had to remembering a family dynamic. He could kill her if he wanted, at least she'd die getting what she wanted.

* * *

The next day the Claveria family was awoken to loud banging on their front door. Caitlin made her way quickly to the door in order for whoever was there not to have their heads bitten off by her brothers' non-morning personality. She swung the door open to see Katherine jogging in place, skin-tight blue clothes and a ball cap holding in most of her long curls.

"Hey," Caitlin greeted brightly, her morning instantly made, "what're you doing here?"

"I thought you guys would like a morning jog," Katherine replied simply, only stopping her jogging when she was invited in the house. She took her ballcap off and shook her sweaty hair out before filing it back in.

"Elena's the morning jogger Katherine, not you," Caitlin reminded her jovially. Katherine scoffed

"My innocent little doppelganger might be the healthier one but I wanted to try it." She walked into the living room and fell on the big couch, her limbs sprawling in every direction. Barry came in minutes later, barefoot and rubbing her eyes. He glanced at his sister while he stared at Katherine, his mind working hard to figure out why she was there.

"I got the coffee maker going," he greeted.

"Is Dawin up?" Caitlin asked

"Yeah, something woke the whole house."

"The whole house?" Katherine asked

"Alice is here too, she came over a little after you left." Barry shyly looked away and Katherine gave him a motherly disapproving look.

"She's just having family troubles, came over for refuge," Caitlin defended quickly before Barry even opened his mouth.

"Well, I'm all for her joining the morning jog," Katherine offered, eyeing the young woman with a smile.

Caitlin grinned in reply. "That probably won't happen, Alice isn't a jogger." She giggling to herself until Dawin appeared with wrinkled pajamas on. Katherine looked him up and down. _How does he look so good when he just got up for crying out loud._

"Katherine came to get us for a morning jog," Caitlin greeted her older brother. Dawin nodded silently and sipped a black coffee, the smell so strong Katherine nearly became more alert than she currently was. The steam from the coffee fogged Dawin's face, making him look sweaty and Katherine had to fight the urge to bite her lip, looking away in show of fixing her hat.

"We're having breakfast first." Dawin turned to go to the kitchen, not accepting any protests. The three followed him in the room, and Barry helped Caitlin make eggs and sausage. Katherine downed an offered coffee in two gulps in order to curb her thoughts of Dawin. Caitlin cleaned her plate as soon as she piled it high and bounced on her toes while her brothers pushed their food around. Dawin glanced at her and sighed. "Go and get dressed for the jog then, Cat."

Caitlin squealed in glee and ran all the way up the stairs, her bare feet banging loud in excitement. Katherine hide behind her coffee until she had to refill it, Barry offering the pot to her. When Katherine was halfway done with her third cup, the Claveria boys were finally done and Caitlin busying herself in impatience, almost a clone of Katherine in her jogging outfit.

It seemed like forever before Barry and Dawin were finally dressed for jogging, Caitlin scolded her younger brother for wearing heart polka-dotted boxers, no one would take him seriously. Barry rolled his eyes and shook his head. Then a blonde woman came to the top of the stairway. Alice, Katherine supposed.

"Bar, could you actually stay with me for a bit?" Alice called to him. He hardly skipped a beat hightailing it up the stairs and taking his fiance's hand, following her into her guest room. Katherine gave Caitlin a look and the Claveria girl shook her head at the silent question.

When the remaining siblings and Katherine began their jog, it was nearly eleven o'clock. They merely trotted for a while down their block until Katherine pushed them slightly harder. Dawin ran hard as a result, leaving the two women behind at a distance. Katherine looked at Caitlin with nervousness.

"Don't worry, Dawin wouldn't admit it even if he was tortured, but he likes you. I don't really know why he's being so secretive about it. Not easy, to see, but when you've grown up with him, you know what you're looking for." Caitlin explained. Katherine stopped and stood before the young girl.

"Why is it you're helping me so much? Aren't you scared I'll hurt you, like I hurt everyone else in this town?" She blurted. When a moment passed and she made no attempt to take her words back, Caitlin smiled again.

"I trust you. I know you wouldn't hurt me, or Barry or Dawin."

"How?" Katherine demanded.

Caitlin shrugged. "I just know."

And weirdly enough, she was right. Katherine never wanted to hurt the Claverias, no matter how much she could gain from doing so. But, what could she stand to gain from hurting the only friends she had?

Caitlin wheezed suddenly and bent over.

"Are you okay?" Katherine asked in alarm. The woman looked up at her, giving a wink.

"I'm fine. Go catch up with Dawin, I'll catch up later," Caitlin replied. Katherine nodded and sped to Dawin, who was at least a block away beforehand.


	7. Back Up Again

_"How many kids do you want...how many kids...how many kids...how many...how many-how many kids do you want?" His voice sounded like a beacon. Katherine felt her head turn towards him and saw Stefan's face. But this wasn't right. It wasn't ever Stefan. She'd never had this experience with him whether human or vampire. Katherine's perception changed immediately._

_It was Dawin. His beautiful brown eyes bore into hers and she felt as if he was gazing into her soul._

_"Katerina?" He asked, chuckling softly. Katherine laughed to herself and shook herself out of the reverie to answer the question. They had been engaged for a few days and it was all very secret, as her father did not know she was with child yet, and they needed to time it right as to fool her father into believing Dawin was her husband before fathering their child._

_"I want to have a few kids, both to help with the house upkeep and for each other's company. My sister and I do not get along, however. I hope it would will be different with our children," she laughed shyly. Dawin smiled in reply._

_"I fully agree, children with no siblings must be so lonely. No one to play with but faux friends when the parents are occupied and no other children are out to play? In addition, I am an only child and it's been hard, only having my parents as company. I do not really connect with my peers."_

_"Oh, well the people I have connected with are the other children in my village. My sister's more the isolated one." _

_"That sounds lonely. Is there no way to bond with her?" He asked_

_"It would be very difficult; she more is my father's daughter while I am my mother's. Father is not an agreeable man."_

_"Yes, my father is the same. Although my mother is just as powerful a person as he is, so he does not always get his way."_

_Dawin and Katherine shared a laugh and when Katherine caught his eye again, his hand slipped to her neck and he softly kissed her. As if for the first time and the last time, all at once. Kissing him was always amazing. She let him do what he wanted as long as his skin stayed pressed to hers. _

_Unfortunately this heaven didn't last long, and Dawin waited for Katherine to control her human breathing and regain focus._

_"What is that about?" She laughed, nudging him with one hand._

_"I'm sorry. I'm just...worried, about your parents. What will they say if our child is discovered to be born out of wedlock?" Katherine touched her stomach and neared his lips._

_"I believe firmly that our daughter will be just fine." She kissed him slowly and then smiled at him. Dawin smiled in return, staring at her in wonder._

_"Daughter?" _

_"Do you not want a daughter?" She half-joked, the fear showing in her eyes. Dawin slipped his hand to her neck again and locked eyes._

_"I do not care what our child turns out to be, as long as it is healthy. If you say it will be a girl, that will be alright by me."_

_"Good, because I already picked out a name," Katherine giggled with excitement. His eyebrows rose in reply to her. "Nadia. Nadia Yaeric Petrova."_

_"That's a beautiful name," Dawin commended. She grinned at his approval and kissed him again, this time throwing herself at him as not to stop just paradise from being cut short so abruptly._

Katherine woke up very easily, her eyelids snapping open as if she'd been awake for hours. Everything was comfortable and solid, and yet she was ready to start her day. The darkness of the room was drawn through with soft beams of light coming from either side of her motel curtains. She didn't bother to pull them against the light or even touch them; with her vampire eyesight she walked easily to the bathroom and readied herself to visit the Claveria manor again.

That was such a nice dream. A dream in every respect, as she knew she hadn't met Dawin before a few decades ago. But imagining him as the father of her Nadia just sounded so right. Then there was the matter of what had happened on the walk yesterday afternoon. Caitlin a fair distance away, unable to hear anything. And Dawin had stopped with her. Katherine couldn't help but stare at his mouth for a long moment, before trying to near it with her own. He put out a hand to stop her.

"What are you doing." Was his only reply. She couldn't tell if he was as interested in this unforseen twist to the afternoon but she decided to push further.

"Don't you want this? Want me?" She took one hand and put it on her collarbone, inches from the beat of her heart. Dawin's hand quickly yanked back as soon as she let it go.

"No Miss Petrova, I do not. Now if you don't mind, if that's what your whole plan was in order to get me alone, I will be heading back to the comfort of my home. You are not invited back with us."

Despite the harshness of his tone and seeing her clearly confused reaction, Dawin took in a sharp breath and himself stared at her mouth. She bit her lip very subtly, and he stopped himself from coming any closer with a gasp. Their eyes met again and without a word he jogged back to Caitlin.

Caitlin, who had seen everything.

How was this next day going to pan out? Had Dawin already asked a witch to disinvite her from his manor, would Caitlin override him? There was only one way to be able to tell. A sudden buzz from her cell caught her attention, and the screen lit up.

**Damon: We need you here, come at 1:30. Don't be late, Katherine or I'll kill you myself.**

* * *

She stepped onto the property of the Salvatore family and seconds later Stefan opened the door. Katherine tried to ignore him best she could but almost found it impossible. Old habits die hard, after all. He was still very handsome however. She chided herself for appreciating the beauty of the man after everything that happened between them.

The rest of the Mystic Falls Gang filed out of the mansion before she could get across the lawn and Elena stormed up to her.

"How could you Katherine, how could you?!" She shrieked. Damon's glaring eyes never left the older doppelganger.

"I'd get closer to her, Kitty Kat. She's about ready to punch your lights out." He sounded both amused and furious, typical of him.

"What's this about?" Katherine asked tiredly, crossing her arms.

"There's been another body." A voice sounded behind her. She spun around and saw with relief somoene here who'd be on her side. Dawin. He merely stood there however.

"At least someone's willing to bring me up to speed. Who is it?" Katherine asked.

"Matthew, Donovan." Damon growled. Her eyes widened.

"What?"

"Don't act like you don't know, he was the perfect pawn for you for years until he wouldn't go along being the human servant anymore. That's why he's dead, isn't he?" Damon demanded.

No one had time to respond. No one had time to react.

A blur sped across the Salvatore lawn and knocked Katherine off her feet, along with Damon and Elena. Shrieking echoed for a mile, and the creature stopped.

"I am sick of you thinking a mere vampire could do the things my species can." The creature growled, clicking and warbling in its voice as if multiple beings were within. "Vampires only tear limbs and suck blood like human mosquitoes. My kind can EVISCERATE THEM TO THEIR CORE!" The creature charged towards Damon and Elena, before Damon quickly picked up his wife and they ran from the lawn. Katherine merely stared at him in confusion.

"Now's the time you decide to show your face? I've been blamed for all your murders!" She protested. The creature snarled and raised a clawed hand. She didn't care that the monster would probably hurt her worse than anything before. She'd been proven innocent, now she was going to be justified in whatever actions she took later.

Before the creature even touched her however, the Dawin-shaped blur tackled it to the ground. He straddled it and raised a clawed hand of his own. He growled and brought down the claw on the shoulder, the creature letting out a painful shriek. It scurried out from under his hold and sped away. Dawin looked to everyone else with angry burning eyes.

They'd turned red.

Dawin wasn't human.

Katherine breathed a laugh and let herself lie flat on the ground.

Too much information is such a short period of time...


	8. Something Different and Wonderful

The sun started to peek over the horizon and Katherine jumped up, both anxious to go to the Claverias and trying to calm herself.

Dawin Yaeric Claveria wasn't human. He wasn't a vampire, werewolf or a witch. What other supernatural creatures were there? She'd been in hiding so long she wouldn't know. But he was different. More than just a different hot guy in Mystic Falls. He was beginning to seep into her dreams, and somehow it made her feel...special.

Getting to the mansion was almost like coming home to her now, walking through the door into a place you were welcomed and respected. Only, she was looking for the one person in this house the feelings of which were unknown to her. Caitlin saw her as she crossed from the hallway into the kitchen.

"Oh, hi Katherine. Looking for Dawin?" She called.

"Yeah, you know where he is?"

"Course. He's taking a nap. The whole showing his power to the gang thing drained him."

Katherine stopped short.

"So you know he's not human?"

"Of course I know, he's my family! I know everything there is to know about Dawin and Bart and you."

Katherine couldn't help a smile flashing onto her face, so she hid it, turning from the kitchen though Caitlin couldn't see her. "You consider me your family?"

"Yes, yes I do," Caitlin replied without hesitation. As much as that touched Katherine, she needed answers. She still knew almost nothing about this family.

"Okay, besides having a million more questions for you right now, I wanna go talk to your brother. Where is he?"

"His room. Last door on the second story." Caitlin went back to whatever she had gone into the kitchen to do and Katherine took the stairs in her stiletto heels two at a time, charging down the open hallway to the last door. A few steps from it she slowed, both wanting to be quiet and getting slightly nervous. If Dawin was more powerful than her, then he could do whatever he wanted to her. Including kill her, or throw her out of the house without her consent.

The motivation that made her push open the door to the dark room was the thought that he'd never do that. He was always grumpy with her but he never outright tried to hurt her.

His room was as mysterious as he was and just as tantalizing; pictures of places and people she didn't recognize, apart from his siblings. Ornaments and little trophies that she couldn't make out the letters, but the most compelling part of the room was the sleeping man that dwelled there. One arm curled behind his head, his other arm across his chest. He barely looked alive, he was sleeping so soundly. But...the peaceful expression was something she wanted more of. What did that peace taste like? What would it feel like to kiss him?

Before she knew it, Katherine had pressed a deep kiss to his mouth. And inhaling his scent, she heard him do the same. Five fingers whispered over her cheek and the kiss deepened. She opened her eyes. Nope, he was still asleep. Did he know he was kissing her? Her in specificity? She pulled away, and then with a gasp Dawin woke too. She could hear his heart pounding, see his eyes widen on her. But she couldn't understand what she wanted to. For some reason, she couldn't ask it either. She turned around and left the room.


End file.
